Blacky and the Witch
by Benven99
Summary: After Niike was finished, Aguni's retaliation struck them by surprise. Everything he had fought for crumbling down around him, the Hundred Knight could only do his best to turn back the clock and try to do better. He didn't mean to go so far back, but he could work with this.
1. Blacky and Defeat

Niike's roars echoed across the sealed land they were trapped in. If it was because of rage, terror, or desperation, the Hundred Knight could not tell. From what Mani- no, Aguni, had said, at some point both Niike and the Hundred Knight had been one and the same, a greater whole. But that was no longer the case, the Hundred Knight having grown from his time wandering Medea and the inhabitants he had encountered, the two of them were no longer anywhere within the same realm of being "one and the same". The Hundred Knight would put his all into protecting those he cared about, while Niike only cared about exacting his vengeance from the people of Medea, and then continuing his feast on the parallel worlds.

Throughout the fight, he could feel Metallia's mana at the edge of his awareness, doing her best to support him though this fight, but she was running on fumes after he had smashed his way through the seal. Even without the connection between the two of them, their hearts were one, fighting towards the same goal. A world where his master could roam free, without having to worry about her connection to the swamp, where she could go out and have fun with as many people as she pleased. Where she could visit as many places as she wanted and attend as many Witches Parties as she pleased. For his master, who had suffered through loneliness for over 100 years, he would make sure that that last wish she had uttered would come true: The desire to play with Visco again, and as many times in the future as possible.

Even though he had been doing it instinctively, the Hundred Knight continued to follow the path towards the brightest future. Everything, from defeating the three Dark Witches who formed the dimensional barrier, to his travel through parallel dimensions, everything the Hundred Knight did was for the future where his master could smile brightly. For Malia, who had suffered silently, torn between her duty as the Forest Witch to drain the Mana Swamp, and her desire to save her child from a fate that led to death. For Arlecchino, who steadfast stayed by Metallia's side, bearing the brunt of her abuse in the name of doing his duty as her butler. Visco, who had befriended Metallia even with the abuse hurled at her, and ultimately sacrificed her life to protect her family from the beastman who had invaded her home. For Nezaria and the Walpurgis Witch Party, Sabina, Nahab, Dulche, and the citizens of the Amataya Kingdom. And even for Lucchini, driven to despair after witnessing countless attempts to save countless worlds fail.

As he steadily whittled down Niike's defenses, the Hundred Knight could feel the battle coming to a close. It just served to display the differences between the two who were once one, as the larger majority of the god was flagging and failing, unable to keep up with the tiny unknown part that made up the Hundred Knight, who was able to keep the advantage, even if only barely. In this fight for the future of Medea, the Hundred Knight would not lose, even if it took everything he had. Although he cared only for a fraction of the people living in this land, it was their home and so he would protect it and its future, to ensure the fate that Lucchini had foreseen would not become true.

With the last of his masters mana, the Hundred Knight leapt towards his foe and _struck_-

_**GROOOUGH**_

-the resulting movement sending him backwards as Niike let out his final cry, the edges of his body disintegrating into ambient mana. The Hundred Knight collapsed onto the ground, his gigacals having dropped dangerously close to zero and his contract torch having turned red a while ago, but the battle had finally reached its end. He turned his gaze up, towards where his master was appearing, a smile growing on her face as she beamed towards her former servant. Before any words could be exchanged between the two however, a forgotten third party spoke up.

"N-Niike… Nii…ke… D-Did you…die…? Niike… Did…Did you…die…?" The whispered words echoed throughout the void, the Swamp Fairy apparently in shock as reality caught up to her. "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh! I'll curse you!" were her words, as anger replaced her shock and she turned towards the pair that had finally slain her beloved. "Envy…! Jealousy…! Hatred…! I'll curse you…! I'LL KILL YOU!" Her declaration made, as her mana swelled and her body grew and transformed. A large face, carried by hair-like tendrils and covered in eyes had replaced the swamp fairy, as she let her hatred consume her and the dark overtake her.

The Swamp Witch and the Hundred Knight were both too exhausted from the previous battle, both magically and physically, to react Aguni's actions in time. Quicker than their minds could keep up, one of the tendrils lashed out and coiled around Metallia before returning to its main body. "Blacky!" were her final words, the tendril pulling her inside Aguni's body, absorbing everything that she had to offer.

The Hundred Knight, having leaped up when the tendril snapped her up, could only watch in despair as the reason he had fought so hard and for so much had disappeared in an instant. With the hope that if he acted fast enough then she could be saved, the Hundred Knight charged towards the dark witch with his sword. It was all for naught as with a swipe of a tendril, the Hundred Knight got sent back as the last of his gigacals were used up trying to repair the damage.

Everything he had worked for was crashing down around him and there was nothing he could do to save it, the Hundred Knight realized. His main method of dealing with problems had failed him, and he was at a loss at what he could do. An idea hit him soon before Aguni hit him and with a quick use of Mystical Dodge, the Hundred Knight was sprinting toward what counted as an edge in the void.

The idea was rather simple. At the current time, things had progressed to the point where the Hundred Knight did not know if they could be changed, and still retain everything he had done when patching the world to make it better. However, Uruka had recognised, and more importantly _remembered_ him as Blacky from over 100 years ago. That told him that when he had accidentally traveled to the past, that was for the past of _this world_, instead of a parallel one. And so, if things in this time could not be changed, then it was a matter of traveling back to a time that could. He would be solely relying on his instincts while he tried to do it on purpose this time, but he _had_ to believe that it would work.

Reaching what he perceived as the edge of the void, the Hundred Knight reached inside himself and transformed into his bird form and flew away from Aguni's reach. As her screams of rage carried after him, he reached deeper into himself, grabbed the specific power he desired and locked on to what he believed was the correct destination, and _pulled_-

* * *

Metallia was walking towards what was once the Old Hag's place, yesterday's events replaying in her mind. Malia had revealed to her about the Old Hag disappearing and probably having died, and she had attacked her for it. She had been so angry, but at the same time she had been afraid… afraid of being alone again. And even though she didn't fully _like_ Malia, Metallia still didn't want her to leave either.

Especially since her familiar, Blacky, had disappeared after the fight yesterday. Did he decide to abandon her as well? No! She refused to believe that. They had made a promise, as master and familiar. If she called for him, then he would come as promised. Afterall, he had come back every time he vanished, so she had to trust that he would return. Blacky woudn't leave her. He was probably just on another adventure, like the previous times he had disappeared. If he could talk, then he could probably tell her about hundreds of adventures that he had been on. He was the Legendary Hundred Knight afterall! But still… she wished he was here with her now. She didn't feel fully confident going to Malia, after attacking her like that. She brought some yummy swamp candy to share with her though, so they could make up and be friends again! And then she could tell Blacky all about it when he came back!

Approaching what was once the Old Hag's home, she entered and came face to face with Malia reading a bunch of papers. "You feel better?" Malia asked noticing Metallia, "So? Why'd you come back here? Want to pick up where we left off?"

"She's really gone?" Metallia asked, not wanting to fight Malia again.

"Like I said. We'll never see her again."

"You weren't lying… It's true…" That just made Metallia feel even more bad. Malia was smiling at her now though, so they could still be friends! She didn't have to go back to being alone. Malia seemed to be thinking about something, so she decided to speak up. "U-um! I have an idea! I'll give you something good, so we can forget that I called you a liar."

"Is this your way of apologizing? All right, what's this "good" thing?" She didn't have to say that outloud! It was embarrassing…

"It's really good! My favorite food! Okay, close your eyes and open up!" Malia would love the swamp candy! It was right up there with Anima and candied seeds.

"Fine. Like… this?" Malia asked, crouching down, closing her eyes and opening up. However, before Metallia could place the swamp candy in her mouth, there was a large crash from somewhere in the forest nearby. "Shit! What's going on out there?" Malia shouted, getting up and rushing outside, Metallia following her.

It was Malia that reached the source of the noise first, her bigger form and more familiarity with the forest giving her an advantage over Metallia. She stopped at the edge of the crater that had been made however, and was staring at whatever had caused it. "What the fuck is that thing? Did it fall from the sky? I've never seen a manania like that before…" Malia was saying, her words getting quieter the more she spoke. Curious over what she had found, Metallia finally reached the edge of the crater and looked inside, only to find-

"_**BLACKY!**_" Metallia screamed, scrambling down the crater wall to get to him. It was Blacky! He was there! But something was wrong… He was face down in the crater, not moving with small cracks running around the helmet he always wore. And the torch that burned at the top of his helmet had become a tiny red ember, with tiny crackles dancing around it. He was hurt! But he was Blacky, the Legendary Hundred Knight and her Familiar! What in Medea could have hurt him this badly? Metallia turned to Malia, hoping she could help, but she was still standing at the top of the crater staring dumbly at Blacky. "M-Malia! Please! Help Blacky!" Metallia cried out to her.

That seemed to break Malia out of her thoughts, and she ran down the crater wall, muttering curses under her breath the entire time. Metallia watched as Malia picked Blacky up and examine him, staring at the cracks and the dwindiling torch upon his head. "Let's take him back to my house, we can look at his injuries and heal them better there." she spoke, shifting Blacky around in her arms and turning to face Metallia. "And then you can tell me all about this… thing, and what happened here"

Metallia could only nod at Malia's words, staring at Blacky with worry and fear in her thoughts, as they began the trek back to Malia's home.

* * *

A huge thanks to Phantom_Flan and Lyrecho of the Bread and Bitter Discord, and my friend Perported_Hades for looking it over. Thanks!


	2. Blacky and the Reunion

Today had not been a good day for Malia. Neither was yesterday, if she was being honest. First the Old Hag disappears and leaves her to pick up the workload, then she had to break the news to the kid, getting attacked in the process and her summoned witch soldier _dying to nothing_, the useless thing. Looking over the notes the Hag had left behind about the swamp had been enlightening though. Even if it did stir some uncomfortable feelings in her gut. The former Forest Witch had created a plan that would slowly drain that damned poisonous swamp, ensuring that no more lives would be lost to it ever again. But in doing so, then the kid would…

Shaking her head, Malia dispelled those thoughts. Now wasn't the time for maybe's and what-if's, now was the time for healing the weird Manania so she could get some _fucking_ answers! While it was a treat seeing the brats cute side come out in full force after seeing hints of it from her little apology earlier, she had steadfast ignored all of Malia's questions in favor of flittering around the table that held the Manania she had dubbed "Blacky". A well asked question about how he came to be named that had potential to some prime teasing material, but that would have to wait.

Healing the weird thing had been the easy part, considering she didn't even need to use any of her healing spells. While in her small experience the healing of any Manania's required special spells due to their form being of pure magic, Lia's little pet-thing appeared to be greedy, absorbing pure mana and using that to bolster its own regeneration. Even now, for what should have taken hours more if she was using her healing spells, all the damage had been healed and the sparkling red embers at the top of the helmet having condensed into a small blue flame.

Taking the opportunity to give it another look for any more injuries, Malia finally focused on the thing as a whole. It was short, being around a head smaller than Lia was with a fat body, tiny legs, and thin arms that led into giant hand-_things_ with three claws. Glowing marks that went from yellow to red trailed down its arms, and it appeared to be wearing some sort of armored diaper with what looked like a tiny tail, a red ribbon tied around its neck, tiny metal boots, gauntlets that didn't cover its claws, and its silver and blue helmet, leading up to a gold ornament that the blue flame billowed from.

Malia turned towards Lia as the kid relaxed at the sight of the torch reigniting, which Malia took to mean that the thing was going to be fine. Now that she had calmed down, it was time to wring some answers out of her. "Alright brat, time for some answers. What is this thing, what happened to it, and why are you friendly enough to it to give it a _stupid_ name?"

Lia's green eyes swiveled to meet Malia's, blinking dumbly as if not understanding the questions. "He's my Familiar, Blacky" She said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Brat. "He's the Legendary Hundred Knight! But…" That was an incredibly ridiculous claim, the thing didn't even look like the Hundred Knight. "The last time I saw him was after he beat up your Witch Soldier, he just… went on another adventure after that…" So _that_ was what happened to that Witch Soldier! But for this little guy to have defeated one of those by his lonesome, as she doubted an actual Familiar Contract had been formed between him and Lia… maybe he really was the Hundred Knight.

Malia's thoughts were broken by a knock on the cabin door. "Visitors, here? Probably looking for the Old Hag. Lia, stay here and watch over your friend, i'll take care of them" Malia directed towards Lia, ignoring her cry of "Lia's not my name, its Metallia!" and heading for the door.

And there, some distance away from the door, was an elegant witch wearing blue robes, her blond hair tied up at the sides of her head and grey eyes staring into Malia's brown.

* * *

Metallia could only glare at Malia's back over being called the wrong name before the door closed behind her. Grumbling to herself, she returned to her worried vergil over Blacky's sleeping body. For something to have hurt someone as strong as Blacky, it was something that sent shivers down her spine. His opponent had probably fought dirty, knowing that there was no way they could touch someone as amazing as Blacky!

But still, she felt a bit useless sitting here waiting for Blacky to recover. He had taken care of everything that had threatened her and she was sitting around doing nothing when he was the one threatened. Well no longer! As his master, she was going to make sure that Blacky stayed safe at her house until she was absolutely certain he was back to full fighting force!

Hmm, she would need to get Arlecchino to make sure the house was good enough for Blacky to stay. She remembered seeing him use a variety of weapons the few times he had fought near her, so she should get Arlecchino to build Blacky somewhere to store it all. Even if he never used it due to keeping a bunch of stuff in his stomach, he could use it for other stuff. Arlecchino always made an excess amount of food, so they were fine there if Blacky wanted something to eat. And while she didn't know if he could sleep, she would have to make sure he knew that her bed was open for him. It was big enough for at least 3 more of her, so it could easily fit the shorter Blacky as well.

Yea, that was a great plan! Her life had become great after she first met Blacky and he started his occasional visits, which meant that with him sticking around everything should be even greater!

Metallia was snapped out of her planning by the door opening, and Malia returning with a solemn expression on her face. "Hey, who was it? Was it a witch?" While in her opinion the swamp was the best thing ever, not many people seemed to want to come close to it beside Malia and the Old Hag, as the townspeople viewed it in fear. So for someone to come this far out had to have been a witch who knew the Old Hag.

"It was Amataya Kingdom's appointed Witch, Valaie the Sun Witch. She's basically witch royalty, you know. Anyway, she came to tell me that kingdom council officially recognizes me as the new Forest Witch. Tch, seems like the Old Hag told everyone but us about her upcoming disappearance." Malia looked annoyed at that. Considering Metallia had attacked her because of it, maybe she had a reason. Maybe. Still, witch royalty? That was _so cool_.

While speaking, Malia had walked over to where Metallia and Blacky were and picked Blacky up from the table. "Alright kid, let's get you home before you get sick. I've done all I can with this little guy, now it's just waiting until he wakes up. And since he's _your_ familiar, you'll be the one taking care of him, got it?" Metallia was already nodding her head excitedly, having come to that conclusion during her planning.

Jumping up, Metallia rushed out of the house, calling back towards Malia to hurry up as they traveled down into the swamp, and Metallia's house.

* * *

When the Hundred Knight woke up, it was to find out he was sleeping on the comfiest bed he had ever encountered. No, that was wrong. He _had_ encountered this bed once before. It was Metallia's bed, which meant that he likely succeeded in going back to before her death. But that didn't explain why he was in her bed, since the last time he managed to get in it, she had kicked him out at the first opportunity.

Sitting up to try and find his wayward master, he was stopped by a small arm wrapped around his waist. Turning towards the source of the arm, the Hundred Knight felt his mind crash, unable to comprehend what was in front of him. The person who was holding onto him like a doll was indeed his master, but… what was in front of him was definitely his master back when she was a _child_. Trying to figure out what went wrong during his travel backwards in time, he caught Metallia mumbling in her sleep, managing to make out the words "Blacky" and "Books". Blacky. That was the name she had given him, the last time he had accidentally visited this time period.

When he had made the preparations for his jump, he had navigated the mental memory of the various parallel words he had encountered, and the local timeframe he had visited them. Easily discarded during his search were the paths that led to the world with the Tower of Illusion and the Metallia who still went by Lia, as well as the world where Metallia and Nezaria had appeared to be wearing a uniform of some sort. He had managed to get a good grasp on the path that was self-contained in _this_ world, but he had meant to only travel back a _few days_ at most. Not some _113 years_ into the past! Where did he screw up? It should have been simple, just follow the path towards his last entrance in this-

The gears in Hundred Knights mind abruptly ground to a halt as he considered when the last time it was _him_ who made an entrance in this world. When he was first summoned here, it was Metallia who opened up the path, and when they were returning from patching the world, it was Metallia who led the way. Using his power, but it was still Metallia. The only entrance he ever made was his time swapping between the past and the present, and so when he grasped the entrance he made to go back to it, he would up 113 years in the past.

The sound of the door opening broke the Hundred Knight from his thoughts, and he turned to see that Arlecchino had let himself into the room. More evidence, if it was needed, that he had traveled far back into the past, as the magical construct looked as new and fresh as could be, at least in comparison to how his suit was torn and his face broken in the future. "Master Lia, breakfast is rea- Oh, Sir Blacky, you've awoken, yes. How glorious, after 5 days of nothing, you finally return to the land of the waking." _5 days_? Oh dear, the jump must have taken more out of him than he had realised. Perhaps it was better that he had missed his mark, as he would have likely slept through the end of the world, and his actions would have been rendered null. "Master Lia threw herself into a tizzy over you, constantly checking to see if you had awoken or if she could make you more comfortable. Indeed, this presents a wonderful opportunity. If you would Sir Blacky, could you awaken Master Lia and bring her down for breakfast while I set the finishing touches? It would make her overjoyed if the first thing she saw while waking up is you, yes." The Hundred Knight knew from experience how true that was, having watched the child form of his master become visibly overjoyed when she caught sight of him, and the adult form beaming with joy when making the connection between him and her childhood familiar. "Yes, your awakening has been at a most opportune moment, as Master Malia had been expressing her desire to, how did she put it? 'Hurry up and start the brats training', yes that was it." Malia… training Metallia? Something had changed between the last time he had left and now. Even in the parallel world where Metallia hadn't been chained to the swamp, Malia still hadn't done any of Metallia's training. Given how Arlecchino was able to see him, maybe it was something that had to do with that?

As Arlecchino left the room, the Hundred Knight pondered the differences between the current timeline and the timeline he knew. Metallia had given Malia the swamp candy, and since it was made from the swamp, Malia hated it and used it as an opportunity to start a plan to extend Metallia's life as long as possible. Taking the green crystal that allowed Metallia to leave the swamp, Malia had set herself up as Metallia's enemy. Where had that changed?

Welp, thinking about it would get the Hundred Knight nowhere, except probably getting yelled at. Turning towards his slumbering master, he set himself the daunting task of waking her. Shaking her a few times he was rewarded with some mumbled protests, and the sight of Metallia simultaneously pushing him away and pulling him closer. A few more shakes was all it took to get her to sit up and start pawing her eyes, her blond hair a messy curtain that surrounded her, except the two tufts of hair that still managed to stand up like ears. Metallia turned towards the source of her waking, bleary green eyes landing on the Hundred Knight.

"BLACKY!" With an exclamation of surprise, the Hundred Knight found himself trapped in Metallia's arms again. He was able to hear cries of "Your awake!" over the din of being shaken back and forth by an overjoyed Metallia. Slowly though, the feeling of being shaken lessened as he felt the two of them sink lower, Metallia's mantra turning into a whisper. "Your okay…" she whispered.

It was when he felt the tears that the Hundred Knight remembered the Metallia in front of him was still a child, her personality not influenced by a century of loneliness. Though the Metallia in the future still clung to the relationships she had formed, it was out of a desire to not be alone again. The Metallia who was crying on his helmet on the other hand, had yet to experience that loneliness.

For his master who faced the possibility of watching her best and _only_ friend die, Blacky could do nothing but hug her back, giving her the reassurance that he was here and alive.

* * *

**Chapter 2 done! Thanks again to PurportedHades and Phantom_Flan for their help! My first story, and for a game that gave me a _great deal of emotions_. Also, a thank you to my first reviewer Sonicboom347! You're happy for content in this small fandom, and im happy to keep giving it my all as best i can.**


	3. Blacky and Training

Metallia's cry fest lasted for a few minutes, and would have likely went on longer if her stomach didn't remind her that she hadn't had breakfast yet. Giving her time to dry her eyes, Blacky pointed at the door and gave a sound of affirmation indicating that they should leave. Seeing his young master looking apprehensive, he took her hand in his and led the way, making sure she had the reassurance that he was still there.

Heading downstairs, the two wandered into the dining room to the sight of a disappointed Arlecchino and an annoyed Malia. Although Malia's expression may have had more to do with the gas mask she was wearing than anything else. Walking towards the table, Arlecchino moves two chairs so that they could easily get up, and then pushed them closer back to it. Breakfast was set in front of the duo and Metallia dug into it with gusto, to appease her growling stomach. Blacky, having no need for food but liking to eat, followed her example and started to chow down alongside her. Malia, unable to eat without taking the gas mask off, and unable to continue surviving if she took it off, just watched the two eat, staring at Metallia with what appeared to Blacky as fondness in her eyes.

When the duo had finished off their plates, Malia took the opportunity to clear her throat and speak. "Alright, now that your little friend is up and about, we can finally get started on teaching you _everything_ there is to know about familiars." She topped it off with a glare to show her seriousness. Metallia could only nod from her seat, attempting to escape Arlecchino wiping the food from her face. "Alright, then come on. This'll take a while to start off, and i don't want to be wearing this mask the entire time. I know a nice little spot that we can go and sit at, since we'll be there for a while."

Having fended off Arlecchino's ministrations, Metallia nodded while jumping off her seat and rushing towards the door. "Come on Blacky! You too, since your Metallia's familiar!" She said, pulling the door opening and beckoning towards him. Blacky ran towards her, eager to keep up, Malia briskly walking behind him, and Arlecchino sedately following them. Reaching the edge of the clearing where Metallia had made her home, Malia took the lead of the group, steering them towards the place she had in mind, while Arlecchino stood back at the edge and waved them off.

Traversing the forest was easy for the trio, monsters being able to sense that Malia was the Forest Witch and giving her a sense of respect, and fleeing at the sight of Blacky, sensing how far above them in power he was. Metallia's mood looked like it was growing ever higher each time a monster looked at him and ran for the hills in the opposite direction. Malia on the other hand gave him uncomfortable stares each time. It made no difference to Blacky, having gotten used to all but the wandering Witch Soldiers fleeing at the sight of him.

Finally they reached a clearing away from the swamp, and Malia removed the gas mask from her face. Taking a deep breath of fresh air, she walked near the center of the clearing and sat down, gesturing for Metallia to come and join her. "Alright, now before you get any fanciful ideas, we'll only be going over the theory behind Familiar magic. We should be able to get through this fast, considering your talent in magic, and I doubt your going to want to summon any Witch Soldiers considering your friend over there." Malia lectured, gesturing towards Blacky near the end. "So while we will dive into summoning a bit, our main focus is going to be based around supporting ones familiar. Got it? Good." She continued to lecture as Metallia nodded her head. "Now, Witch Soldiers are formed out of mana, making them more resistant to magical attacks, or spells in general, than other Mananias. This is why most witches make Witch Soldiers, rather than go out and forge a contract with a monster. However, this advantage isn't without costs. Witch Soldiers are fragile, so while their good when your opponent is magic oriented, they kinda suck ass when your up against someone physically oriented." Her lecture paused as Metallia raised her hand. "Yea, what is it?"

"So what about Blacky? He was able to take out a giant centipede, as well as your Witch Soldier, and a bunch of other monsters running around the swamp." Metallia asked.

"Well…" Blacky could see the gears turning in Malia's mind, unsure of the answer to his masters question. He had been non-existent to all of her senses until he had reentered this time, so she had nothing to compare him to. "He's got no presence according to my senses like a Witch Soldier, but he's also shown a clear will and mind of his own, like a person. His body runs off of mana like a Manania, but beyond following _you_ around like a lost little duckling, he's got no other indication of a master who supplies him with mana or grounds his presence in this world. Nothing about his appearance is telling me-" She was interrupted as Blacky decided to pipe up.

"Wakyo" Knowing they couldn't understand him he didn't bother making more than a positive noise, mainly trying to get their attention. If they wanted to talk about his appearance, then he had some skills he could show off. Not everything, as he didn't want to attempt to transform into his phoenix form at the moment, but he could showcase his various facets and see if they could gleam what they meant. They were intelligent witches after all. Making sure he had both of their attention, he prodded the casing of magic that clung to his physical form, and swapped from his standard Wonder Knight Facet to the Power Fortress Facet, the ultimate in physical defense, his rounded helmet transforming into something resembling a guard tower. Up next was the Marginal Gaze facet, the best when dealing with magic, his helmet turning into a type of jester hat, with a stylized mask at the front. The Shinobi Assassin Facet, designed for quick fights and quick getaways, designed with a demon-style front and a sleek back. His Trick Screamer Facet, helmet shaped a bit like a pumpkin, useful in getting his enemies to become friends and turning them against one another. And finally the Noble Raptor Facet, a gift from his master. The Ultimate Offense, perfect for how they did things, giving him a small and sleek helmet that didn't offer much protection.

"Woowie Blacky, that was so cool!" Metallia cheered, her excitement over seeing her friends abilities plain to see. Blacky let out a cheer at his masters joy, pleased that he got such a response out of her. Malia, who had been looking over the various facets with an examining gaze, could only hum her agreement with Metallia.

Bringing everyone's attention back to her, Malia continued her lecture. "Well, even with that display, I still can't tell what kind of creature he is, but such is the nature of the Legendary Hundred Knight i guess. You've lucked out Lia, getting such a powerful manania to be your friend." She continued, ignoring Metallia's cry of anger over the misnaming. "Eventually, we can look into his fighting ability-" She cut herself off at the sight of Blacky moving to show off again, "_but not today_. Today is about learning the basics, not doing them. Now we move onto _supporting_ one's familiar." And this was where Blacky backed out. While he loved his master, and would move mountains to ensure her happiness, the power he needed to get to the happy ending required him to not be chained down with another contract. Seeing that Metallia was engrossed in Malia's lectured, he decided to do a bit of exploring and recreate the map he had of Wudes Way. The maps he had made previously had disappeared during his travels in the sealed land, and even if he still had them then they would have been over a 100 years out of date.

Blacky had to consider his plans for the future. He knew he wasn't the smartest tool in the shed. Metallia had said as much back when he had first been summoned. "As dumb as a sack of hammers" she had put it. However, he had the end goal in his mind:

Niike dead once again. For good this time.

To do so, he needed to accomplish several things that he did last time. Get past Uraka powering the seal and defeat the three dark witches power the dimensional seal. His travel backwards in time had obviously landed him long before he ever defeated them, and he could feel their restrictive presence at the edge of his senses. The first he remembered was… Dark Witch Kilkenbyuut, the harpy in the ominous cavern located deep within Yaptolacca Ravine. The easiest to deal with, considering it seemed like she had traded her witch smarts for harpy smarts. Next was Dark Witch Aramashira, the giant… monkey thing. The most annoying one, considering its favorite tactic was to teleport around the battlefield. Its location was a bit trickier to pin down, as while he had fought her at Cicitite Battlefield, he remembered Sabina saying she had chased it there. It would take him a while before he could get a lead on its present location and he didn't feel like dealing with its demented game of tag so soon. Finally, Dark Witch Faarenhait. The most dangerous of the trio. Capable of summoning allies and utilizing magical attacks. He was a bit apprehensive about facing that monster again, despite knowing he could defeat her. While she was going to be easier to get to than Aramashira, it would still take a while, requiring him to get to the kingdom, find a way past the witch soldier infested sewers, and traverse the ruins of the old Amataya Kingdom.

Only after those three were dead would he have full control over his dimensional abilities again, but he was fine waiting. He couldn't risk using the Pillars again, since each one that bloomed would grant Niike more power. Niike would need to be at his weakest if he had a chance of facing both him and Aguni at the same time again.

Having mapped out Wudes Way, Blacky started the trek back to the witch duo, his mind turning back towards potential plans. Uraka had mentioned several witches who had helped her take down Niike in addition to the three who had turned dark. There was obviously Dulche Dera Valentine, who was likely in an enchanted sleep by her pseudo-children. If the patches made by his venture into the world Metallia created persisted into this new timeline, she would wake up sometime in the future and make amends with her creations. She could be an ally, provided he learned to means to communicate with her and share his plan. He vaguely recalled Uraka mentioning the name Dotrish, which was _Visco's_ last name, so that witch was long dead. The same went for the Netherland witch she mentioned, as that was Nezaria's last name. Nora… Nora… the only Nora he recalled hearing was his Torch of Nora, and Omega class Magical Staff. Helzen… that was the name shared by the witch who Malia had recently met, if the timeline still synced to how it was during his previous visit. Valaie Helzen the Sun Witch. Probably the exact same one who fought Niike, or her daughter, considering she was able to recognize Uraka on sight and was complicit in her plans. He was probably going to have to avoid ever running into her, to prevent Uraka learning about his presence in this time still. Yaptalocca had been another name mentioned, but considering the ravine named after her, she was likely the pile of bones at its just left Randarufin, Meranoda, and Deedee. Names he hadn't heard anywhere else during his adventure, so they had either died long ago or secluded themselves in recompense for the swamp.

Finally reaching the clearing Malia and Metallia were located in, he was treated to the sight of Metallia overturning everything in a panic, and Malia doing her best to calm her down. Why was she… Oh. It was him. He was so used to her future self being distant and aloof, that he had forgotten exactly how much she was attached to him. By the time her future self had bonded with him, she had gotten used to him being back at full strength after each beat down that she had never saw fit to worry. The little one however, had just come to terms with him at his lowest, and her childish mind thought of him as needing to recover. Even after seeing all the monsters flee in fear of his sight, she still held that worry in the back of her head, and upon seeing him gone from the clearing, it had grown and overtaken her.

Making his presence known with a shout he waved at the two as they faced him. He guessed that his budding plan to easily ease his masters worry failed before it began though, since the next thing he knew was a blond bolt shooting across the field straight towards him. A war cry of "BLACKY!" was all he could hear from said bolt before it collided with him, forcing him and the yellow blur to roll several feet backwards. Forcing the world to stop spinning, he was greeted to the sight of Metallia's white dress, the girl wearing it having picked him up again and clutching with all her might. "What happened? Where did you go?" She asked, and he spun his hand around, hoping the idea came across. He hoped it helped calm her down, she looked close to tears. "You should have said something! You just… disappeared." And she was getting sadder. This was the exact _opposite_ of what he wanted! Blacky did his best to convey a sad and remorseful sound, given he couldn't speak, but he really hadn't meant to worry her. It was even more clear that he couldn't keep thinking that she would respond as her older self would have. This one hadn't been betrayed by Malia, and so had not, no, _would not_ close herself off emotionally again. Not if he had anything to say about it.

"Alright kid, your friend's back and the lesson's over. Time to get back home, we've been at this for a few hours now, I've got a lot of things to do now that i'm the official Forest Witch, and I don't want you getting sick from being gone from the swamp for too long. Better safe than sorry, okay?" Malia said while approaching the pair. Metallia nodded while setting Blacky down, but refused to relinquish a death grip on his hand. If doing so gave his master some comfort, then that was fine. The walk home would give him more time to think.

As Malia led the way back to the swamp, Blacky turned his thoughts back towards witches. Rather than the witches of the past however, it was the witches of today that he had to now consider for his plans. Obviously Malia would help, considering how she wanted to help free Metallia from her fate in the future. Nezaria Netherland had been willing to help as well, and had seemed friendly enough to Blacky. Ryubance, a witch of the past who was unwillingly a witch of the present. Her quest for death and forced servitude to the Purple Peel clan would make her a terrible ally, especially since Purple Peel herself would not get along with either Blacky or Metallia due to her superiority complex. Having an apprentice stronger than her made her crabby enough, adding another child to that would make her unbearable to be around. Her apprentice on the other hand, Lavily Lalula La, would make a good friend for Metallia. Having voted for her to be an official witch just cause she seemed interesting in the future, he suspected the two children would become fast friends, if not friendly rivals. Thinking of one apprentice brought to mind another apprentice though, Teresa, apprentice to Belda, massive suckup, and an annoyance. But like her master, they could potentially be heeded off from being annoyances so long as he was careful. Belda the Scum Witch, massively obsessed with the human Heintz. By Blacky's estimation, Heintz wasn't to be born for another eightyish years. So long as she was prevented from that obsession, her timid nature would mean she was a nonissue, even if not an ally, and Teresa would follow her lead. Obsessions brought to mind another individual, this time with an obsession on Malia: Thin Ice Lily. Or at least, a future obsession, as it was too soon for the two to have met yet. Without her believing that Metallia had caused the death of Malia, and replacing that with the idea that Metallia and Malia were close, given the selfish nature of witches it was likely Lily would use Metallia as a means to get to Malia. It was all super weird to Blacky, but the more good will he could gather, the better. And finally the two Duchesses of Flowers, Cigaro and Gelato Valentine. Cigaro was an unknown factor, but Gelato seemed to consider good manners and recognition above all else, having scolded Teresa for failing at those things, but had also seemed to like the quantities when shown in Metallia. Where did the difference lie, and how could he exploit it?

Shaking those thoughts away Blacky turned and looked at his young master, noticing her complexion had gotten a bit pale. Looking ahead, he noticed that Malia had redonned her gas mask, which meant that they were nearing the swamp and that Metallia would be fine. He and Metallia waved goodbye to Malia as she went to go do her "official witch business". Entering the hut, they were greeted with the smell of food. "Ah, Master Lia, Master Blacky. Welcome back, you're just in time for lunch." Arlecchino said, noticing their presence. "Please have a seat, I will now be serving it momentarily." Sitting at the table as the magical butler went to retrieve the food, Metallia decided to regale him with all the stuff Malia taught her.

Since she hadn't noticed him missing until a couple hours after he had done so, she decided to start at the point after the demonstration of his various facets, coincidentally being the point where he had wandered off. As lunch was served and they ate, he was treated to concepts that were both familiar and new to him. He remembered the future Metallia using him as a focal point, either to teleport or project an image of herself, as well as syncing their senses so that she could see out of his eyes. What Metallia had apparently learned the theory of from Malia today, was a basic version of that principle, having the Familiar be an extension of one's self. As Malia had taught her nothing but the theory however, she was currently unable to follow through on her declaration that she'd always be able to find him the next time he disappeared. Still, he couldn't wait for her to learn it, as he wanted to see how she'd react to all the various places he had been to.

Once lunch had been consumed, Metallia had dragged him over to the sofa in the living room and picked him up, using all of her strength to plop him on the middle cushion. It was quite a soft sofa, still relatively new. Blacky watched as she rushed towards a nearby bookcase and looked it over. Picking one of the books resting on it, she rushed back to the sofa and sat next to him. "Um… I-Is it alright if I read you a story? It's one of my favorites!" She asked him, looking unsure of herself despite the confidence she had plopped him on the couch and gotten the book with. Having not heard many stories besides a few different versions of how Niike had been defeated a thousand years ago, he nodded his head. He recalled one of the lamp-trees mentioning how Metallia had used to read books out loud to them, so if reading one of her books to him made her happy, he saw no reason to deny that.

Voicing his approval, he watched as her face morphed in pure joy as she opened the book. Shifting around in the sofa, Blacky got himself comfortable as his little master opened her mouth and read from the book.

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**And chapter 3! Longest chapter so far, nearly twice chapter 1's size. Till next time!**


	4. Blacky and the Test

Learning theory for half the day and playing the other half away. That was the routine that Blacky and Metallia settled into the past couple of weeks. Having seen her panic attack after he had left to map out the forest, Blacky had decided that in the interest of keeping his master happy, he would wait for further expeditions until Malia had taught her how to sync her senses to his. That way, when he decided to continue mapping out Medea and checking for the differences a hundred plus years could have on the locals, she would be able to see out of his eyes and find out that he fine. It wasn't a perfect solution, as she would still likely panic but sticking by her side all the time wouldn't get his plan done and wouldn't help Metallia grow past that panic.

However, that would all change today. After yesterday's lecture, Malia had said that she would finally move Metallia on to actual practice. It would simply be the transferring of Mana from Metallia to him, as well as the basis for a Familiar Contract, but it was a start. With how smart Metallia is even at her young age, it wouldn't surprise him if she soon started experimenting on her own time, and blazing through all the theory she had been taught.

Although, giving more thought to his plan, now that it seemed he would be able to start working towards it, Blacky realized he needed to solve the problem of moving through the world fast. Sure, it would only take him a couple hours on foot to reach the Kingdom, but getting to Yaptolacca Ravine would take him a couple of days without any pillars to teleport to. Getting to a far off place like Marital Snowfield, where he could begin his investigation into Aramashira as that was where he remembered last hearing Sabina's name, would take him a week at most. And Blacky refused to use the Pillars again now that he knew their true purpose. No, he would have to rely on his own two feet, his Phoenix forms wings, and hopefully the Night Train.

Waking his master up, the duo went downstairs for breakfast, greeted by Arlecchino's drawling greeting and Malia's tired gaze. Having to split her attention between her growing duties as the new Forest Witch and Metallia's teacher, compounded with how little Uraka had taught her about the duties she would have to take up. As Metallia stumbled over to the table and sat down, Blacky waved at Malia before the two dug into their plates.

Once the two had finished breakfast, they followed Malia back to the clearing they had been using since the first lesson. Sitting down near the center, a habit kept each time, Malia started her new lecture. "Alright Lia, today's the day you've been waiting for. Time to put all that theory into practice. Now, normally the first step would be to set up the Familiar Contract. However, as our tests proved, Blacky seems to unconsciously reject the formation of one, thus rendering that step impossible." It was more conscious than they seemed to realize, but he refused to have his power tied down again, even to the one he still called Master. "So we're moving on to step two, which we've already proved still works on him: The transference of Mana between Master and Familiar." And hadn't that been a surprise, Metallia still able to transfer mana to him even from a distance. He guessed it was the fragmented remnants of the contract he had with the future Metallia, or it could be a result of her naming him "Blacky" when they had first met, consider part of the Familiar Contract was renaming the familiar. "To make this easier, transfer some mana to him now so the pathway is fresh in your mind. Keep facing me though, it'll be easier in the long run if you get used to doing this without looking at him." Nodding her head, Metallia closed her eyes and scrunched her face, looking to the world as if in deep concentration. From where he was seated behind them, Blacky could feel the mana starting to trickle into him, slowly as Metallia explored the bond between them. Though his reserves were still high from passively absorbing the swamps mana, and how little he found himself doing the past couple of weeks, he let the mana flow in and overcharge his reserves. This was to help Metallia learn after all.

Opening her eyes, Metallia nodded to herself. "Got it!" She told Malia, confidence in her tone.

"Good. Now, to make sure you were paying attention to those lectures I gave you, repeat to me the steps to sync one's self to their familiar?"

"First, ya gotta make sure the connection is stable. Then you have to connect your thoughts to his, giving you everything he sees."

"Wow, you actually remembered all that. I'm a bit impressed." Malia said, her tone a bit surprised.

"That's cause unlike you, Metallia's a Great Witch!" Metallia's statement of truth only caused a flash of annoyance to cross Malia's face, having heard her say it numerous times since they met.

"Yea yea brat, now put it into practice. It should be easy for such a "Great Witch" like yourself, huh?" Malia jeered back, smiling as Metallia's face fell into uncertainty.

"O-Of course! Just watch, I'll have it mastered in a flash!" All the bravado in the world couldn't hide the waver in her voice. It made sense to Blacky, since she was still a child and was close to Malia, making it so that she didn't want to disappoint her after all the time she spent giving training. Scrunching her face again, Metallia closed her eyes and Blacky felt the path between the two fill with mana once more. He would have no idea if her training had paid off though, as he could not feel the sense sync beyond the presence of her mana.

"Whoa! I can see us! It's so weird…" It would appear that his master had succeeded, since she could see herself. Malia nodded, and gestured for Blacky to come closer to the duo.

"Alright, let's do a little test. I'm going to show Blacky here some stuff, and you have to name it. Turn around so I know your not peaking." Malia directed. Metallia shifted herself so that she was facing away from them and Malia directed Blacky to follow her a bit further away. Making sure that Metallia wasn't peaking on them, Malia reached into her pouch and pulled out a variety of items.

The first item to be revealed was a- "Book." Metallia's voice rang out. Followed by a- "Bowl." Indeed, it seemed as though his master was looking through his eyes. "Stick, cup, box, wand." One after another, items were pulled out of the pouch and named. Soon enough, a small pile of items sat between Blacky and Malia.

"Alright Lia, test's over. Naming every item I pulled out without fail confirms that you created a steady connection with Blacky and used that to see out of his eyes. Now, time for another test: Hearing. Im going to whisper a question to Blacky, and you have to give me the answer, got it?" Seeing Metallia acknowledge the new test, Malia bent down towards Blacky. "Okay… No idea where your ears are located, or if you even have ears… But you react to what we're saying, so you can obviously hear us…" Blacky could only stare at Malia as she mumbled to herself, before pipping up with a questioning noise. "Right, right, test. Alright Lia, if you can hear this, answer this question. The abstract manifestation of the soul is called what?"

"Anima! It's super tasty!"

"Good, you established a link to his hearing as well. Pretty impressive, getting two senses on your very first try. That's where we'll end it for now. Taste, smell, and touch are not as important as seeing and hearing, so we won't get into them. I don't have anything pressing for a few more hours, so, I don't know… go play? Experiment?" Malia announced, bringing an end to the learning part of the day, and letting them have free reign.

Jumping up from her position, Metallia ran towards Blacky and tackled him. This was normal. As an active child, and one empowered by the mana swamp, Metallia had a lot of energy to spare. This meant that besides reading at him, one of her favorite things to do was trying to wrestle him into submission. Not truly of course, it was all a game in Metallia's mind. Thus, when these fights occurred Blacky wouldn't use his full strength, something Metallia was aware of. Discovering this rambunctious side to his master was less of a surprise than he realized as he remembered all the times her future self had tried picking fights with others.

As the play fight progressed with Malia watching in concern, Metallia lost the upper hand her first strike had netted her, and Blacky held her to the ground to signify his victory. Clapping her hands and approaching them, Malia called the play fight off. "Alright, alright, enough making me worry you two. I brought lunch with me, so why don't we get started on that, okay?" She said, taking some lunch boxes out of her pouch. Seeing the boxes, Metallia grabbed one and sat down, opening it to reveal a collection of meat and greens. Grabbing one for himself, Blacky joined his master on the ground before the two dug into the spread.

Partway into the meal however, Blacky sensed something approaching. Putting his food down, he stood up and looked around, ready to jump in and defend the other two if it became necessary. Seeing him tense, the two witches also stood up, looking around for the source. There. Past a cluster of trees, a Della Caterpillar was approaching. Hmmm. Strange. It was strong, but not pillar guardian level strong, and they were nowhere near the main pillar in Wudes Way. Not to mention that Malia's status as the Forest Witch, and his own overwhelming power should have kept such monsters at bay. Unless… this one was hoping to become the pillars new guardian, and had decided the easiest way to prove itself to the pillar was taking down the strongest creature in the forest. Pillars were fickle things, and it was likely that such a thing could work. And the strongest thing in the forest at the moment was… _Him._

The fragment of the world eater Niike who had grown beyond the original. Having managed to take down anything ranging from the Pillar Guardians, to the Walpurgis Witch Party, all the way up the chain of power to his greater part. Though it had exhausted him, and he had fallen to Aguni soon after, it did not change that he had killed the Demon God Niike. To something looking to be a Pillar Guardian, defeating him would be the quickest path to doing so.

Oh well, nothing he hadn't dealt with before. As the monster entered the clearing and gave his roar of challenge, Blacky reached into his mana and took out the _Hundred Demon Blade_, one of his most prized Omega class weapons. Letting out his own cry as the witches next to him prepared some spells to through, Blacky charged towards his opponent hoping to scare it into submission before anything could be done. But this monster was perhaps less intelligent than the other monsters he had faced, for it only became enraged at him before curling into a ball and charging towards Blacky in a bulldoze attempt.

Jumping out of its path and unleashing a couple of slices to its side while its guard was down, Blacky backed off as the monster uncurled from its ball. As it reared back to deliver a poison breath attack, a flash of lightning struck it, igniting the cloud in its throat. Blacky could hear Malia's cheer at her attack working, and he charged in to finish the monster before it could recover. A few more slashes from the omega class sword, and the Della Caterpillar had fallen before him, its body disintegrating into particles of mana.

Turning back towards the witches and dismissing the sword, Blacky was treated to the sight of Malia's shocked face and Metallia's cheering jumps. "How did he… He made it look so easy. The last time I ran into one of those it took me a significant amount of mana to drive it off, but he goes and kills one in under a minute. Just goes to show the power of the Legendary Hundred Knight, I guess…" Malia mumbled to herself as Blacky approached them.

He agreed, to an extant. Monsters and the like were no problem, usually didn't think or employ a strategy. Humans and Witches? Those were tougher. The ability to plan and use magic gave him difficulties, given how he was lacking in those. He would have lost to many a witch in the early days if Metallia hadn't been there backing him. Seeing that the two infront of him were unharmed, and only Malia was slightly tired from her spell, he waited to see what they wanted to do.

"I guess… that's enough excitement for today. Let's get you both back home before Arlecchino blows a gasket for how long you've been gone. You did good though Lia, far better than I thought you would. Please don't go experimenting on your own though…" Malia said, sounding rather strained towards the end, already knowing that Metallia wasn't likely to follow that order. Metallia agreed though, and the group made their way back to the swamp, Metallia gushing about how cool he had been against the caterpillar.

As they grew closer to the swamp, and Metallia's energy started flagging, Blacky was once more brought to the future. While his natural power was enough to scare away most monsters, it appeared there would be some brave ones who would test their mettle against him. Luckily, the attack gave him the perfect opportunity for something he had been meaning to do for a while now. He would finally get to take stock over what Tochka and weapons managed to survive the journey.

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**Another chapter done! Another thanks to my friends from discord for their help, and I hope ya enjoy!**


	5. Blacky and the Checklist

It was bright and early the next day when Blacky broke the habits he had formed with Metallia. Malia had not come this day, Arlecchino relaying that she was still checking over the forest for other potentially hostile monsters, as well as making sure that the nearby village wouldn't get attacked. Now normally, such a break from Metallia's studies would have his master monopolizing his time to play. Up to this point he had indulged her, not seeing the harm if it brought a smile to her face. Today however, he would finally take stock of the resources he had.

Finding a clearing near the swamp, Blacky checked the surroundings. Close enough to the house that Metallia could find him with ease in the event she panicked, but far enough away that any noise he made wouldn't startle them. Opening his mouth, he reached in with his hand and scooped as much as he could grab and dumped it on the floor, repeating the action several times until he believed he had gotten all of his stomach stock. With the first step completed, it was time to begin his appraisal, separating what he could use from what he couldn't. Firstly, the Fools rocks and various other alchemical regents. Most of them would probably be useless if he still had his weapons, but he could give them to Metallia and see what she would do. Next were the charms, ranging from the crappy wool ones to the mystically bound metal ones. They had been a great boon on his journey, but having so many would work against him, the enchantments engraved into them only allowing for so much interference from other charms before cancelling each other out. Most of them were only good for exchanging at a shop, but some of his higher end ones he wasn't using could be given to Metallia and Malia as a precaution. Making sure that his own personal charm, the Hundred Demon Charm, was still attached to his ribbon, he started to separate the charms into different piles.

The task done, Blacky already knew the status of his next possessions. The White Rose Dress', created out of transformed Rose Saqua essence from the Marital Snowfield. They would only work for him, having been formed from his Captel Tochka working on the monsters. And any other bit of armor that he had wouldn't work for either witch, without the constant flow of inner mana reservoirs bridging the enchanted armor with the body. So they were all a lost cause. The Hundred Demon Mirror that Uraka had made was the only exception, but it was an incredibly situational item, granting its wearer the ability to move through dimensions. He would gain no use out of it since he had that ability already, but he would give it to Metallia as insurance for her safety.

Moving his attention towards the pile of pointy death, he was glad to see all his omega class weapons sitting at the top. His trusty sword, hammer, wand, spear and lance. They were the only weapons he needed, and he doubted the others would use any of them either, so he would store them until something could be done. Gathering them up, Blacky was broken from his thoughts by footsteps approaching from behind.

"Wooow, you really have a lot of stuff Blacky! You must have been on _lots_ of adventures to get this much!" Metallia said, gazing at the piles of his stuff laying around the clearing as she and Arlecchino approached him.

"Indeed Master Blacky, you appear to have accumulated a vast quantity of what appears to be high quality charms, weapons and various rare alchemical reagents. I'm rather curious as to where you have been storing all of this, yes." Arlecchino drawled out, taking the time to give his own glance over the piles. To answer his question, Blacky simply reached into his mouth and pulled out the doll Metallia had given him at the end of his last visit. Upon seeing the creepy looking doll, Metallia's eyes lit up, brightening her demeanor even higher.

"You kept it! What am I saying, of course you kept it! It's a symbol of our bond as Master and Familiar after all." She said, her tone filled with confidence at the end. But he had hung around a Metallia that had far more experience hiding her feelings to be fooled. From her perspective, there had been an up to 24 hour period between when he had left her home that day to falling from the sky while injured. During that period, she would have been unable to locate him, despite that being the Doll's purpose, as he had not existed within the current timeline and thus couldn't be tracked. It would be reasonable to presume from that the doll had either been lost or discarded. "Hey, you were going to put all this back in your stomach right? We can make you your own shed if you want! Your stomachs bigger than I thought it was, but I bet even it has its limits. So Arlecchino can build a shed for you to store all the interesting things you find! I-Is that alright?" She continued, her confidence failing at the last moment.

Not seeing anything wrong with that, and liking the thought of having somewhere to store all of his excess items that he wasn't going to use, he agreed with his masters request. It was the little things, Blacky was slowly realizing, that gave his master the greatest of smiles. Like the one she now wore as she barked orders at Arlecchino to begin building his shed. As the two got to discussing what kind of shed Arlecchino should build, Blacky got back to cleaning up the clearing so that he could get to the next part of his checklist.

It was time to summon some Tochka.

* * *

Metallia was feeling pretty annoyed with Arlecchino at this point. She had just gotten Blacky to agree with her shed idea so he would stick around more, and now Arlecchino was arguing with her about "building costs and supplies", like any of that mattered! And he had been so obedient lately. Oh well, she guessed some of her better ideas for Blacky's own personal space would have to wait until another time, in favor of Arlecchino's "cost-effective shed starter", the giant dummy.

Noticing that Arlecchino had stopped talking and started to gaze intently near her, Metallia turned around to see what could stop one of his lectures. It was near her leg that she found it, a strange magical creature. From what she could see, it looked like someone had removed the head of a bird, gave the body a tiny helmet, and put a giant eye where its neck should have been. An eye that was staring at her. Letting out a startled shriek, she turned her sense towards the ambient mana in hope of discovering more info about the weird creature.

What she found was nearly enough to stop her in her tracks. The weird thing was like Blacky! Its form was passively absorbing some of the ambient mana in the area, but unlike him it was also getting a constant flow from another source. Tch, that meant it was another witch's summon. Who did they think they were, barging into her swamp and scaring her? The only other witch allowed in was Malia, and that was cause they were friends. Whoever this third rate witch was, they would be sorry. Narrowing her eyes, Metallia focused on the flow. Following the trail it left, her eyes roamed towards the center of the clearing where Blacky was. And only... Blacky… Looking around even more, she couldn't see any hint of invisible witches, or if they were hiding somewhere else. That only left…

"Is this little guy yours?" She asked him, feeling a bit silly. That silly feeling turned to surprise when Blacky actually nodded back at her, looking rather pleased with himself. As if to demonstrate, he turned a bit and narrowed his eyes at the floor. Feeling his mana starting to rise, Metallia looked at the spot he was staring at and was surprised to see a form of summoning circle she had read about in one of Great Witch Uraka's books. A small flash of purple light later, and another one of the headless bird things was standing where the circle had been. "Woowie Blacky, that's so cool! Can you summon anything else?" Blacky just kept getting more and more amazing!

Facing another direction, Blacky focused on the ground again, as a much large summoning circle formed, spitting out… a giant tower? It had several little walls jutting out of it, and two rows of tubes circling it. Getting closer to examine it, Metallia noticed Blacky walking a bit away and focusing on another spot, a similar circle spitting out another tower, this one looking like a spire that had some bulbous crystals connected to it near the top. A smaller circle was formed some distance away, spitting out what she could only describe as a double sided teapot with a face, sitting around as tall as she was. A chirp behind her had her spinning around to come face to face with a giant bird, staring at her with beady orange eyes. Peering past it, Metallia noticed that Blacky had closed his eyes and looked deep in thought. Twirling around to gaze at the summons, the various creatures that Blacky had summoned started to disappear into purple mist.

Returning her attention back to her familiar, he opened his eyes and looked rather pleased with himself. As he should! Her familiar had familiar's of his own!

"Indeed, Master Blacky's prowess continues to grow and surprise us. As to be expected of the Legendary Hundred Knight, yes." Even a big dummy like Arlecchino could see it! Hehe! As Blacky finished packing up his stuff, the trio returned to their home as Metallia's thoughts turned towards what was sure to be an _exciting_ future.

* * *

It had been a few days since the discussion of building him a shed had taken place and Malia was now "chaperoning" him and Arlecchino to get supplies to build said shed. So here they were, in Amataya Kingdom. A place he thought he wouldn't be able to get to for quite some time, and home to one of the Dark Witches he would need to kill. They had already purchased all the material's that Arlecchino said was necessary for the building, and they would be delivered to Malia's house where Arlecchino would take them the rest of the way.

Noticing that the conversation between Arlecchino and Malia had stopped, Blacky looked around to see the cause. However, they were nowhere to be seen. Spinning around, he couldn't find them anywhere within the crowd. Had… Had he gotten _lost_? _Him_? Restraining the urge to growl, Blacky decided the best course of action was to get back to the main street of the kingdom, and from there make his way back to the swamp. It would be easier than trying to find those two in this crowded city.

Entering onto one of the side streets, he made his way to where he believed the gate was. However, a door being flung open interrupted him as several rats raced out, fleeing further into the streets. "Egh… Uh… If you come again…" That was… Belda. Belda the Scum Witch. And yet… she sounded far more timid that the last time he had heard her. "Sew them shut… Mouth…eyes… A-And use them as sweets ingredients…!" She was also mumbling threats to herself, audible to Blacky only due to his proximity. "B-Be prepared! Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!" She was now crying. Was this even the same woman who had orchestrated the witch hunts for the sake of catching the gaze of someone who only saw her as a means to an end? Walking up to the softly crying witch, he decided this was the fastest way of getting to gates. Tapping her leg and letting out a questioning squawk he waited for her attention to settle on him before letting out his best approximation of his question he could act out. "A manania?" He heard her mumble. "Are… are you asking about the gate? I-It's um, down that way. You'll wind up on main street if you keep going straight, and the gate should be easily visible from there…" She said, pointing down the direction he needed to go, the waver in her voice from crying fading a bit as she talked.

Letting out a sound of appreciation, he waved at her and started walking where she had pointed. "G-Goodbye little one, don't be a stranger…" He heard her say to him. He would have to remember that. Maybe he could make sure she didn't become the insane person she-

Any thought in his head was discarded as something large crashed into him. "There you are you little shit!" The voice revealed that his attacker was none other than Malia, now having grabbed onto his cheeks and pulling on them rather hard. Malia stood up, still clutching onto both him and his cheeks, and turned towards Belda. "I'm sorry, was he bothering you?" She asked.

"O-Oh, no, no. He just asked a question… Do you, um, know him?" Belda asked back.

"Yea, he's the familiar of a brat i'm looking after. Have a good day Miss um…"

"Belda the Scum Witch. And you are?"

"Malia, newly appointed Forest Witch. And this little one is Blacky. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Ah, s-same to you… have a good day you two."

With the introductions between the two witches concluded, Malia turned and walked to where Arlecchino was standing, still clutching on Blacky. As Malia started to rant to him about getting lost, he waved at Belda pleased that he got a small smile and a little wave back. Perhaps there was hope for her yet.

* * *

**And Chapter 5! This was the last of my buffer chapters so updates may start slowing down. Chapter 6 will most def be going up next week, but after that I don't know. Until then, hope ya enjoy the read, leave a review if you please, and have a good day!**


	6. Blacky and the Invite

Getting the shed built took longer than it should have. What should have been done in a couple weeks of Arlecchino working turned into a couple month long project as Metallia requesting various things to be changed. First it was making a floor so that "none of it would get dirty". Then it was racks and shelves to put everything on. Malia even had something to say once she saw his piles of stuff, and insisted they build a small garden, as some of the plants he had were apparently rare alchemical ingredients. It was only after all those were added that everyone was satisfied with the shed, despite Blacky being fine with dumping everything in piles on the floor.

In that time, Metallia had slowly progressed in her training until she hit a block. She couldn't channel her spells using him as a medium. He knew it was possible. Her older self had used him as a beacon to teleport to, and also used him as a relay to use a communication spell. But no matter how much she tried, it appeared the magic didn't want to work. Until Metallia and Malia could figure out the block and work around it, they had taken to teaching Metallia various other spells to supplement her repertoire and see if it helped break through the block. Today was to be a lesson on augmenting the growth potential and yield in plants.

That is… until breakfast came and went without a sign of Malia. She usually liked to get here early so that they could fit in as much learning as possible before she went off to do her Forest Witch duties. His master couldn't keep a small frown off her face when the usual time came and went without showing anyone. The frown turned into a worried look when lunch proceeded to pass by and still no peep from Malia. Even Blacky had to admit that he was getting a bit worried by now, since this was a routine between the two of them that they enjoyed greatly. For Malia to not show up, something big had happened. And so the duo decided to solve the mystery by heading out for Malia's home.

Arriving at her door, Metallia knocked on it several times. "Malia? Maaallliia? You there? Open up!" She yelled at the closed door, her knocking growing faster and harder the longer Malia failed to appear. Finally, the door opened, revealing the disheveled head of the Forest Witch, before her arm lashed out and yanked the two inside. "Hey, what gives!? What are you doing dummy!" She yelled, angry over the manhandling.

"Check it out! A messenger bird brought it over this morning!" Malia said, a manic smile growing on her face. In her hands was a piece of parchment that she was shoving in Metallia's face.

Metallia flailed for a bit before managing to grab onto the parchment and yanking it out of Malia's hands, and away from her face. "I can't read it if you're shoving it in my face!" She yelled at Malia, who didn't lose her manic smile and just gestured Metallia to read it. "To the newly appointed Witch of the Forest… blah blah blah… Recommendation of one of our own…" Metallia's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in surprise after that. "You have been cordially invited to the upcoming Walpurgis Nighttime Soiree…" Well now, that was a surprise. For Malia, who had been the Forest Witch for less than a year to be invited and officially recognized by the witch council was huge. But one thing stuck out to him. While reading the letter, Metallia had said that it was based on a recommendation of one of the Walpurgis Witches, but who. The only witches who could have a connection to Walpurgis would be that Sun Witch from the kingdom, she was probably high enough up the social ladder to be someone important from the party, and there was also… Belda.

Though it had been short, and as far as he knew they hadn't seen each other since, for someone as bullied as Belda, a simple conversation between two witches that didn't end with her in tears was likely something to be treasured. And what better way to ensure more of those conversations would ensue but getting her invited to the biggest witch party there was.

"Wait…" Oh, it appeared that Malia's senses were returning to her now, as the manic smile was finally disappearing and she was staring at the duo with a questioning gaze. "Why are you two here, shouldn't you be getting breakfast?" Hmm. It seemed that Malia had been in a daze since she got that letter.

"What are you talking about you dummy? It's already past lunch! You're way late for our lessons!" Metallia retorted. The truth was compounded by how much Metallia looked forward to Malia's lessons, having grown much closer to the older witch during them. Already, their relationship had far exceeded the one between the Malia and Metallia of the old timeline. Whereas in the old timeline the relationship was only positive from Malia's side, due to her actions in prolonging Metallia's life, they had only reconciled shortly before Metallia turned herself into Niike's new seal. The two in front of him however, held a much more sisterly bond, which translated into Metallia being worried over Malia missing their lesson, and Malia going with whatever idea Metallia has to humor her.

"Really? I'm sorry, I guess I just got so excited over the invite that I forgot." Malia apologized, looking ashamed of herself. "I've been going through my wardrobe for something to wear to the soiree, but everything I have is either too plain or has some swamp mud on it." That was an important thing to be aware of, swamp mud being resistant to any attempts at cleanliness, and according to Malia, smelled. "I'm going to have to go to the kingdom to get something new…"

"Oh, oh! I wanna go! I want to see the kingdom!" Metallia exclaimed, jumping in place a bit.

"Not this time kiddo, i'm just going to get a dress. I want this to be a quick in and out. No time for sightseeing." Malia explained to the disappointed Metallia. "Lesson's are cancelled for the day. Now come on, I need to get going." She continued, usher the two out the door.

The two waved at Malia as she flew off on a broom towards the Kingdom, before making the trek back to the swamp. It would appear that they had some free time for the future. From the way Malia was rushing to find a suitable outfit, Blacky assumed the party was in the next day or so. After that, it would last for seven days and seven nights. For that period of time, there would be no lessons or hanging out with Malia, so it would be up to him to entertain his young master.

Glancing at Metallia, he noticed that there was a small skip in her step and a smile on her face. He guessed she was happy for the person she was starting to view as a sister. It was unlikely that she knew about the party lasting seven days, but he had no way of informing her. Seven days without seeing Malia would sadden her, but she would understand. Metallia was, as all witches were, an inherently selfish person and in her future self, this manifested in monopolizing the time and attention of those she cared about. Hints of this were already appearing in the current Metallia, and it would continue to grow unrestrained as Blacky couldn't help but agree to whatever she asked, and Malia had always had problems with Metallia's demands.

Reaching home and seeing Arlecchino tending to some flowers outside was new, but made sense given how much he talked about his "fieldwork". "Ah, Master Lia, Master Blacky, how surprising to see you both back so soon."

"Malia can't teach me today cause she's getting ready for the Walpurgis Witch Party! It's so cool! She got invited despite only being an official witch for less than a year, and without having a master take her to be introduced either!" Metallia gushed to Arlecchino.

"Ah I see, then, what shall you do for the next week?"

"H-Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, the Walpurgis Nighttime Soiree does last for seven days and seven nights, and as a newly introduced witch at the party, Master Malia will be unable to bring along a guest, yes. So the question is, what shall you do for the couple of days that Master Malia prepares for the party, and the seven days she spends attending it?" Arlecchino asked the hard question.

For her part, Metallia looked downcast at the thought of not seeing Malia for over a week, but she soon smiled at Arlecchino. "That's fine. I'll have you and Blacky here to keep me company. She'll be back, and can tell me aaallll about it then! And in a few years when she can, then she can take me and Blacky with her! And then we'll all have fun together!" She said, smile growing bigger the more she talked.

It was true from what he remembered. The invite he would steal in the future said that they were allowed a guest, and he assumed that was something different from an apprentice, or there was a difference between that and a familiar. Lavi had had that bunny familiar-thing, but she had been named an official witch around in the year before he had invaded. But when the time came for his master to attend the Walpurgis Witch Party, Blacky believed it would be good for her. In addition to being acknowledged as an official witch, thus giving her a boost to her confidence, there would be other witches close to her age, or apparent age as he doubted she was as old as she appeared, which meant some other potential friends for her to make.

Only time would tell though, as he had no idea how Malia's first Walpurgis Night would go.

* * *

It was finally the start of the Walpurgis Nighttime Soiree, and Malia, Lia, and Blacky had gathered around the train station in Hekkahenne Forest. Malia fidgeted a bit, not used to wearing a dress, having always worn pants in the past, but she had gotten it to make a good impression. As she stepped up and rang the bell that would summon the Night Train, she turned towards the two who had accompanied her. "Alright, well, I guess this is goodbye for the next week…" She told them. "Remember, stay out of trouble you two. I mean it."

At her reprimand, Blacky let out one of those weird sounds he made, speaking in whatever language he spoke. Lia was nodding her head before she had even finished speaking, so she doubted she was actually listening. Oh well, if something happened she would just make sure some carrots found their way in her lunch, hehe.

A portal springing to life in the air brought Malia out of her thoughts, spitting out a train with the head of a lion, two goat heads at its sides, and a snake as a tail.

"**Rawwwwwr! The Night Train is here! We're headed to the Walpurgis party!**" The lion head spoke.

"Wow, the Hekkahenne Forest stop? Been a long time since we've been called here." The goat head closest to them spoke. Or perhaps both spoke, and it just sounded like one?

"_Who's that? A newbie witch, some kid, and a fat little thing? What's going on here? Do you know?_" The snake tail spoke.

"Do you have a ticket? If so, let me nibble on it." Malia walked up and placed her invite in the goats mouth. "Hmm… Its the real deal. But its only for her, no add-ons."

"_You heard him, no tag alongs._"

"Don't worry, they're just here to see me off." Malia spoke to the train. Turning back towards the duo, she spoke to them. "Like I said before, be good you two. I'll be back in a week." Making her way to the front of the train and entering it, she waved goodbye to the two as they waved back.

"**Raawwwwwwwr! Time to go! Next stop, the Walpurgis Party!**" With that roar, a portal sprung up in front of the Night Train and they were off.

It was but a short hour later that the train exited another portal, this time leading to a shining city, stretching as far as the eyes could see. "**We're almost to the party grounds… Behold! Witch City Walpurgis!**" The train shouted, beginning to descend before a tower.

Exiting the train, Malia was surprised to find herself greeted by Belda. "Welcome newly appointed Forest Witch Malia, to the Walpurgis Nighttime Soiree."

"Belda, what are you doing here?" Malia asked, surprised.

"Why, to greet the witch I recommended to join the soiree, of course."

"Wait… You were the one to recommend me?" Malia was even more surprised at that. They had only spoken once, and it was mostly introductions. Was that all it took for the other witch to recommend her?

"Oh yea, I was. It just felt like… the right thing to do. Come, come, the party's about to begin. You need to be introduced to everyone." Belda said, beckoning for Malia to follow her into the tower.

Up and up the tower they climbed until they reached the top. Once they stood before a large pair of doors, Belda came to a stop and motioned Malia to stay put. "You need to stay here until the Head Witch announces you. See you then!" Belda said, before opening the door and entering the room.

A few minutes passed before Malia heard a familiar voice announce something behind the door. "And now that all members are accounted for, it's time to introduce our newest member. Please come in."

And with that, the doors opened of their own accord, allowing Malia entrance to the chamber, and to the Walpurgis Nighttime Soiree.

* * *

**And thats chapter 6! It'll be a while before Chapter 7 comes out, but I will absolutely do my best to ensure it does! Until then, hope ya enjoy, leave a review if you want, and have a good day!**


	7. Blacky and the Witches Soiree

Introductions sped by for Malia. According to everything she heard about it, The Walpurgis Party was made up of six witches, most of them far older than Malia herself. Although, only five of those witches were in attendance.

Which made things… awkward for the newly appointed Great Witch. While the other Great Witches didn't make it obvious, it was clear that they didn't fully accept Malia.

Even Malia didn't feel like she belonged, with how fancy everything looked. All she had known was her home village, the Old Hag's home, and Lia's shack. A place that looked like the Walpurgis Party tower? She doubted she'd feel comfortable for a _long_ time. She would have preferred the city surrounding the tower instead.

Instead, she was stuck in a tower with a bunch of Witches who would rather be anywhere else but with her. It made sense to her, she was a newcomer after all. An upstart, you could say, in their eyes. To have been granted the honor of being a Great Witch, and invited to the Walpurgis Party not even a year after becoming a full Witch, was likely a slap to their face.

Still, it wasn't like she was _totally_ isolated.

There was Valaie, pulling double duty as both the Court Witch, and the Head of the Walpurgis Party. She at least, kept her distance due to professionalism, and the like.

Of course, Belda had stuck to her side after introductions were done. Malia was starting to get the impression that she wasn't very popular in the Party. It was either due to her age, being only a decade or so older than Malia, or her title as the Scum Witch.

And finally there was someone that seemed to have taken an interest in her, but was keeping her distance. But… they hadn't stopped staring, and it was starting to creep Malia out.

"It's really strange, I don't think I've ever seen Ryubance take such an interest in anything before, but she hasn't stopped staring at you since you walked through the doors. I don't think she's even blinked…" Oh? If what Belda was saying was true, then the stitched-together Witch just got creepier.

"Ryubance, huh?"

"Yep! Ryubance the Patchwork Witch. An ally to the Purple Peel clan, and probably the oldest Witch here. The going rumor about her is that she's several thousand years old."

"That'd explain all the stitches. Probably kept going by replacing any rotten parts with other people. Wish she would stop staring though, it's freaking me the fuck out. Anyone else here that I should know about?" She asked Belda.

"Hmmm… There's obviously Madame Purple Peel. Due to some clan tradition, she apparently discarded her name upon being named head of the Purple Peel clan, so nobody knows what it is. However, she's been talking about retiring in favor of having her apprentice take over.

"Lady Netherworld is said to be super strong, and recently started training her own daughter, but it'll be awhile before anything changes in regards to them.

"And finally, there's Lady Dulche Valentine, who has apparently decided to decline attendance this year. Like Ryubance, Lady Valentine has been around forever, with some rumors even saying that she fought alongside Great With Uruka. There's another rumor going around her that she's recently taken in two apprentices, but nobody has been able to confirm it." And wasn't that just a wellspring of knowledge.

It was going to be a long seven days till the end of the party, and she could get back home.

Malia hoped the brat was fine… Oh who was she kidding? Lia had one of the strongest Manania's Malia had ever seen following her around like a puppy, and she didn't even have it bound by a Familiar Contract! She was definitely fine.

* * *

Metallia was not fine. Not fine at all!

It had started simple. She wanted to check out the village that that dummy Malia had talked about a few times. According to Blacky's map, it was some distance from the edge of her swamp, but so long as she held the green crystal, it would be fine!

But then... But then, on the way towards the village, she may have gotten a bit excited at exploring a new place, and gotten ahead of Blacky… and now she was being chased by a giant monster!

As Metallia ran, she felt her foot get caught on something, sending her tumbling to the ground. Quickly scrambling back to her feet, she only had a moment to register the rush of wind behind her before the monsters tail slammed into her, sending her flying and crashing into the ground again.

Clutching herself in pain, she could only stare up at the monster as it towered over her. "Blacky!" She yelled out, the only thing that she could do as she closed her eyes.

A crack of lightning was her answer, as she felt her hair stand on edge. As Metallia opened her eyes, it was to see a small girl standing over her, flames flickering in one palm and lightning in the other. Tearing her eyes off the girl, she could see that the monster was glaring at the newcomer, most of its body charred.

"Here I am, enjoying myself in the pleasant air, and you just had to go and ruin it. This may not be anywhere near my territory, but I can't have you ruining my trip by killing such a cute girl in front of me."

Metallia could only stare in awe as the small Witch proceeded to set the monster ablaze while pelting it with lightning. As the barrage of magic ended and the Witch turned around, Metallia swore she could feel stars in her eyes. Like Blacky sometimes had!

"Now little girl, just why are you here? Don't parents nowadays teach their kids to avoid the monster ridden wilderness?" Oh, she was speaking. She should correct her on the parents stuff, huh?

"Don't got any. And I live here. Or, well, near here, at least." There we go, corrected. Now, would she teach her some of those cool spells?

"That won't do. Is there nobody taking care of you?" She certainly asked a lot of questions, huh?

"Of course there is! There's Blacky, Arlecchino, and Malia. Do you think you teach me some of those spells?"

The Witch had started scrutinizing Metallia. Or, well, she thinks she did. She could only see one eye since the other was hidden behind an eyepatch. "I see… Do you think that I could meet them, especially this Malia? I have a few questions I'd like answered."

Metallia furrowed her brow in thought. "Arlecchino's back home, but you probably wouldn't get any good answers out of him, since he's a big dummy. Malia is off at the Witch party, so she won't be back for a while. And Blacky is uh… somewhere. I was following him, but got too excited and ran ahead, then got lost being chased by that monster. But he can't talk, so he can't answer any questions."

"Off at the Witches party, huh? I see. To think that I came all this way to meet the apprentice of _That Woman_, and I missed my chance by opting out of the Walpurgis Soiree. Truly, my luck has not improved."

Now the Witch was off mumbling to herself. Wait, Metallia never asked for her name, right? Malia said that's rude. "Hey lady, what's your name? I'm Metallia."

The Witch turned back to Metallia. "My name? Oh, I never introduced myself, now did I. Very well, I am Dulche Dera Valentine. The Great Witch of Roses if you need a title."

A Great Witch! Wow!

Before Metallia could ask any questions however, a large crash sounded out, signalling Blacky's arrival as he smashed through a tree.

"Blacky!" Metallia yelled out as Dulche scrutinized the new arrival.

"So, this is Blacky, huh. Curious. My eye is twitching." Blacky stopped and stared in surprise at the Great Witch. "How Curious. You look as though you know me, yet I have no recollection of a Manania such as you. Why is that?" Dulche questioned him.

Blacky, having no method of understandable speech, pantomimed what must have been their previous meeting.

"Hmpf, no answers, only questions, huh? No matter, it's about time I take my leave. My quarry is not here, so I should ensure that my experiment is going smoothly. Take care now, you hear?" The Great Witch said before leaving in a shower of rose petals.

Metallia and Blacky stared at where she had been for a few seconds, before Blacky took out his map again and pointed towards home.

Looking up, Metallia could see that the sun was starting to dip. "Oh. I must have been running for longer than I thought. Alright, tomorrow then!" She nodded at Blacky, as he studied the map directed them towards home (and dinner).

In this moment, Metallia couldn't help but miss Malia. Sure, she would have lectured her, but it would have been vocal affirmation that she cared. Blacky was great, but he didn't have a voice to say stuff like that. All he had to give was his presence, and it used to be more than enough, but now if felt like that something was missing from her heart.

Metallia thought she had read about this in a book! It was, uh… Longing! That was it! Longing for someone by your side. It had only been a few months, but Malia had really become someone important to her, hadn't she?

Metallia missed Malia. She wished the party was over. But it had only been two days, and so the party would continue for another five.

...Metallia walked a bit faster to grab Blacky's hand, and the two continued the trek back home.

* * *

Five days into the party and Malia was ready for it to be over. Five days of these Witches just complaining, over and over, about stupid _shit_. Who cared what some dumbass had to say? You already admitted that you were the one's at fault you stupid _bitches_, so why are you acting like your the victims there?

Belda, likely sensing Malia's darkening mood, brought some more wine over.

Not that it helped. Malia wanted to leave long before this, but since she was the "Guest of Honor", and the ceremony to induct her as a new Great Witch wasn't taking place until the final day, she was forced to suffer through it all.

Valaie had retreated a few days ago, and hadn't been seen since. What was making it worse was that for some reason, that Ryubance chick _hadn't stopped staring!_ Ever since the first day, it was nonstop staring, and Malia was getting sick of it!

Downing another glass of wine, Malia watched as Valaie returned to the room, and announced that they would begin the council talks.

Well, at least something was happening that had the promise of being interesting.

* * *

If Blacky's memory was correct, then the chicken's final crow should have been about half an hour ago, thus signalling the end to the Walpurgist Nighttime Soiree.

Metallia, struggling to stay awake, fidgeted side to side as they both waited for the Night Train to arrive. Though it was well past her bedtime, not even Arlecchino had the heart to force her to go to sleep, not with how anxious she had been for Malia to return home.

Blacky patted her back again, getting a small smile in return, as they both observed the clearing that held the train stop.

With an roar that only Blacky could hear in his core, a large portal opened up and released the Night Train.

"**Raaawwwwrrrr! Final stop, ****Hekkahenne Forest. All passengers, please depart!"**

"_That means you, lady. Time to get off, your entourage is here to welcome you."_

After Malia had exited, and the Night Train had departed, Metallia could no longer contain herself and launched her small form at Malia. Catching her with ease, Malia held her in a hug. "Hey, miss me? Geez, are you even aware of how late it is? You should have been in bed hours ago!" As Malia started to lecture Metallia, the night finally caught up with her. Soft snores shortly sounded out from the figure in Malia's arms, as she let out a small laugh.

"Come on kiddo, let's get you to bed." Gesturing for Blacky to follow her, Malia started the trek towards Metallia's home.

Their home.

* * *

**Alright, this one took much longer to get out. Partially cause I got back into Skyrim modding and lost a few months to that. Partially cause I went full throttle in FFXIV. And partially cause this will likely be a representation of my actual writing speed.**

**So much going on in the world. But it hasn't hit me or anyone I'm close to, so I'll take what I can get.**

**See ya next time!**


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